[IronUnkind]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry to trot out a tired old analogy - but how sure can we be that invisible pink elephants don't exist? I guess I can't say with absolute certainty they don't, since it might just be something unknown to me. But the chances are close enough to zero to disregard the possibility, unless some new evidence presents itself.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course. But now you are talking about burden of proof, which is a more fundamental issue. All I was saying was that IF one decides to argue against the existence of invisible elephants, then "I can't see them" isn't going to pass muster as a valid disproof.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think there's any point in factoring in all the possibilites with zero evidence to support them into our handicapping. Then absolutely nothing could ever be ruled out. It's easier to just say the chances are close enough to zero that, for all intents and purposes, they can be ignored.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't disagree with this except as it applies to this specific issue, which I contend is too unwieldy to make such cocksure statements about "The Evidence."